The decision to switch to a cheaper, less-effective treatment chemical was likely a major contributor to the recent spike in lead levels in Pittsburgh's drinking water.
Some say it's better corrosion control. Others say it's getting lead service lines out of the system altogether. But many observers agree that current federal regulations are totally inadequate.
Some fancy science, that's what. As in some inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy — a process that can analyze samples quickly and with super-accurate results.
Shell's ethane cracker may prove to just be an opening act. A new state-commissioned report says that by 2030, Pennsylvania could be a major hub for the nation's petrochemical industry.
